Nghiên cứu năng lực cung ứng dịch vụ của doanh nghiệp logistics việt nam tại vùng kinh tế trọng điểm bắc bộ tt tiếng anh

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE VIET NAM INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE POLICY AND STRATEGY LAM TUAN HUNG RESEARCH ON THE CAPACITY OF PROVIDING SERVICE OF VIETNAM LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION Major: Commercial Code: 62.34.01.21 SUMARY OF ECONOMIC DOCTORAL THESIS Ha Noi, 2020 The work was completed in Vietnam Institute of Industrial and Trade Policy And Strategy Instructor: Assoc Prof Le Trinh Minh Chau Dr Luc Thi Thu Huong 1st defence: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 2nd defence: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 3rd defence: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… The dissertation will be defended in front of the State Council for Thesis Evaluation at the Vietnam Institute of Industrial Policy And Strategy - Ministry of Industry and Trade, 46 Ngo Quyen – Hanoi at…… The dissertation can be found at: Hanoi National Library Library of Viet Nam Institute of Industrial and Trade Policy And Strategy INTRODUCTION Urgency of research Vietnam is considered as a country with ideal natural conditions and geographical position to develop the logistics industry With the scale of 20-22 billion USD/year, accounting for about 20.9% of the country's GDP; the annual industry growth rate has reached 20-25% on average; in recent years, the logistics service industry is playing an important role in the process of integration and economic development in Vietnam The Northern key economic region (NKER) is a region with a special position in economic development It is the gateway of the northern provinces of Vietnam, leading to the East Sea and connecting large markets with each other such as Northeast Asia with the ASEAN region and vice versa According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), there are currently about 3,000 businesses providing logistics services, mainly in forwarding, warehousing, loading and unloading services, transport agents, etc mostly located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, Da Nang, Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh Except for state-owned enterprises which are being equitized, most logistics enterprises in the key economic region are small and medium-sized, with the average charter capital of VND 4-6 billion dong, the proportion of logistics trained human resources is still quite low at 5-7% They are mainly young and dynamic enterprises, mosly originally come from State-owned enterprises, joint venture companies or foreign invested enterprises Domestic logistics enterpris come with a large number but only account for a very modest proportion of service revenue and the main job is to act as an agent or undertake certain stage(s) for international logistics businesses Foreign-invested enterprises such as APL, NYK, Linfox, Maersk, K&N, Schenker are currently active in logistics sector in Vietnam Comparing to the period before joining the WTO, Vietnam's logistics service industry has significantly grown in terms of the number of participating enterprises as well as the professionalism of service providers How ever, this breakthrough is still unsustainable due to the lack in the process and skills to provide full service The network of service is ineffectively disconnected and straitly covered Thus, the competitiveness of enterprises will be improved, contributing to the growth of the industry and the national economic development From the above analysis, the PhD student has selected the topic:“ Research on the capacity of supplying service of vietnam logistics enterprises in the northern key economic region” 2 Research objective and missions - The research objective of the thesis is: The thesis clarifies the scientific basis for both theoretical and practical aspects for proposing basic solutions to improve the service provision capacity of Vietnam logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region - Research missions: + Systematize, supplement and develop a number of theoretical issues on the capacity of logistics service enterprises + Analyzing and assessing the current capacity of service provision of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region; + Proposing solutions to improve the service supply provision of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region Object and scope of the study - Research object: theoretical and practical issues about the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises and the service provision capacity of Vietnam logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region, approaching from the perspective of management based on competency - Research scope: + In terms of space: carry research on logistics enterprises with its head office in the Northern key economic region This research is focused on pure logistics enterprises that provide services to other businesses without transferring ownership of goods + In terms of time: practical research is limited to the period from 2010 - 2019; Proposing solutions to 2025 and with a vision to 2030 + In terms of content: the thesis focuses on analyzing the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises based on the constituent factors of service provision capacity Research methodology 4.1 Research process The research process is illustrated in the figure 0.1 Figure 0.1: Research process (Source: Illustration by PhD student) 4.2 Research model From theories of resources, capacity of logistics services, logistics enterprises as well as documents on service delivery capacity in general and logistics services in particular In this study, PhD student proposed the research model of the thesis shown in Figure 0.2 Model include: Figure 0.2: Research framework model of the thesis (Source: Summary and development from Barney, 1991; Sanchez and partner, 1996; Mentzer, 2004; David, 2014; Thompson partner, 2015) 4.3 Research Methods - Data collection method: + Secondary data is collected through sources of conferences, theses, research, books, newspapers and on the Internet + Primary data was collected through: expert interviews, survey methods and case studies - Data analysis method + Quantitative method + Qualitative method New contributions of the thesis: The thesis is a combination of theoretical research and applied research with the following major new contributions: - Theoretically, the thesis has contributed to systematize, supplement and develop a number of theories on service provision capacity of logistics enterprises In particular, it clarifies the concept of service provision capacity of logistics enterprises; inherit and adjust from international scholars about the constituent factors of logistics service provider's provision capacity; proposing a model to evaluate the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises; - In practice, the thesis has pointed out the strong points, weaknesses and causes of capacity to provide services of Vetnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region On that basis, the thesis will propose solutions to improve the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH Overview of research 1.1 Research on logistics * Research on logistics management in enterprises There are some international authors to mention such as: Alan Harrison and Remko Van Hoek (2015) "Logistics Management and Strategy"; Martin Christopher (2011) "Logistics and Supply Chain Management"; Doan Thi Hong Van (2011) "Logistics - Basic issues"; Le Cong Hoa (2012) "Logistics management"; An Thi Thanh Nhan, Nguyen Van Minh and Nguyen Thong Thai (2018) "Business Logistics Management Curriculum" The aforementioned documents mainly approach logistics as a function of the business and manage this activity in enterprises, not to mention much about the logistics service industry, especially the logistics services suppliers * Research on the status of logistics industry in Vietnam Studies on the status of Vietnam's logistics industry include research related to the development of logistics services in Vietnam; Competitiveness of Vietnam's logistics industry To name a few: Dang Dinh Dao ans his partner (2011) "Developing logistics services in Vietnam in the context of international integration"; Dang Dinh Dao and Nguyen Minh Son (2011), "Logistics services in Vietnam in the process of international integration"; Dinh Le Hai Ha (2012) "Developing logistics in Vietnam nowaday"; Bui Duy Linh (2017), Improving the competitiveness of Vietnam's logistics service industry in the context of economic integration ”; Vietnam Logistics Report 2017, 2018 and 2019 * Research on Vietnam logistics enterprises There are several outstanding studies such as: Dang Thu Huong (2010), "Developing Vietnamese logistics enterprises - Existence & solutions"; Nguyen Thi Minh Nhan (2012), "Competitive strategy of Vietnamese logistics enterprises based on knowledge in the context of globalization"; Le Tan Buu and partner (2014), "Core criteria affecting the decision to select logistics service providers in Ho Chi Minh City"; Nguyen Hoang Hai (2017), "Assessing the competitiveness of Vietnamese logistics enterprises"; Nguyen Thi Huong (2013), "Solutions for effective implementation of M&A activities of logistics enterprises in Vietnam"; Ngo Tan Hung (2012), "Actual situation and solutions to develop logistics service provision enterprises in Quang Ngai province" 1.2 Research on service provision capabilities * Research on services and service suppliant Typically, there are the following authors & research works: Nguyen Thi Nguyen Hong (2014), "Service administration"; Pham Thi Huyen and Nguyen Hoai Long (2018), "Service marketing curriculum"; * Research on service provision capabilities Nguyen Bach Khoa and Canh Chi Quan (2013), "Perspectives and some solutions to improve the passenger transport service capacity of Vietnam Airlines"; Nguyen Hoang Long and Nguyen Thi Hang (2013), "Capacity of providing training services of Vietnamese universities and colleges, some arguments and research models" * Research on service provision capacity of logistics enterprises Competence - Based View - CBV was developed primarily by the studies of Barney (1991), Wernerfelt (1984), Peteraf (1993), Sanchez and Heene (1996, 2004, 2008, 2010) Mentzer and partner (2014) "The unified theory of logistics service provider's capacity" and Shang & Marlow (2007) show the components of logistics service provider's service provision capacity; Sanchez and Heence (1996, 2004) asserted that capacity is created by adding capabilities; combining resources will create competitive advantages and allow enterprises to achieve their strategic goals 1.3 Research on the Northern key economic region There have been a number of related studies in the Northern key economic region, typically the following studies: Nguyen Danh Son (2007), “Basic investigation of sustainable development factors in the Northern key economic regions”; Ta Dinh Thi (2007), "Shifting the economic structure from the viewpoint of sustainable development of the Northern key economic region"; Tran Phuong Anh (2012), "Development of human resources in key economic regions of Vietnam" Vu Thi Loc (2018), "Building a commercial development strategy for the Northern key economic region till 2030" Research gaps PhD student identify research gaps for the thesis as follows: (1) Research on the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises, in which confirms the concept of service provision capacity of logistics enterprises; explain the elements, evaluation criteria and factors affecting the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises; (2) Research on logistics enterprises whose headquarters in the Northern key economic region CHAPTER THEORETICAL BASIS ON THE CAPACITY OF SERVICE SUPPLY OF LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES 1.1 OVERVIEW OF LOGISTICS SERVICES AND LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES 1.1.1 Definition, features and classification of logistics services 1.1.1.1 Logistics services definition According to Article 233 of the 2005 Commercial Law, logistics services are defined as follows: “Logistics services are commercial activities, whereby businessman organize one or more tasks including receiving goods, transporting and storing goods, warehousing, customs clearance, paperwork, customer advice, packaging, code signing, delivery or other services as agreed upon with the customer for remuneration ” 1.1.1.2 Features of logistics services Logistics services are quite similar to other services in some features such as: no reserve, intangible, no separation between production and consumption; unstable quality of service in different times and different suppliers In addition to the features of the service industry in general, logistics services also have the following characteristics: (1) The object of logistics service relationship includes suppliers and customers; (2) The complexity of the process of providing logistics services; (3) Logistics services create a continuance with goods-related services such as transporting; packing; freight forwarding; warehousing; customs brokering; (4) Logistics services play an important role in the production and business activities of enterprises 1.1.1.3 Classification of logistics services Currently, there are many ways to classify logistics services, within the scope of the thesis, logistics services are divided into many different criteria: by type of operation; in the WTO classification manner; according to the level of added value of the service or according to the service content 1.1.2 Definition, role and classification of logistics enterprises 1.1.2.1 Logistics enterprisses definition Logistics enterprises are understood as: "an economic legal entity with the purpose of providing one, several or entire logistics services at the request of customers" 1.1.2.2 The role of logistics enterprises The role of logistics enterprises Logistics enterprises have a role in the supply chain: connecting goods transactions between suppliers and customers in the supply chain; Logistics enterprisses help businesses in the supply chain focus on developing core and specialized competencies 1.1.2.3 Classification of logistics enterprises There are many ways to classify logistics enterprises, within the scope of the thesis, they are divided according to different criteria: according to the type of service provided; the goods type; the position of participation and level of integration in the supply chain; ownership level & scale 1.1.3 System and process of providing services of logistics enterprises 1.1.3.1 Service supply system of logistics enterprises The service delivery system helps to clarify the interaction between customers and employees through the service supply process, and at the mean time shows how they are supported by the activities and systems behind For customers, the service supply system gives customers a better service experience, exploit the value of the benefits of the service For providers, the service supply system facilitates the integration of resources with the operational activities of logistics enterprises 1.1.3.2 The services providing process of logistics enterprises Researching from the perspective of being a logistics service provider, the process of providing services consists of many stages, starting from the time the enterprise determines the needs of its customers until the customers consume products/services of businesses 1.2 DEFINITION, FACTORS AND CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES 1.2.1 Definition of service provision capacity of logistics enterprises 1.2.1.1 Resources and capabilities of enterprises a Resources of enterprises The enterprise resource theory states that it is the resources of the enterprise that will determine the competitive advantage and business efficiency of enterprises The essence of the theory states that businesses can gain and maintain a competitive advantage by creating and deploying valuable capabilities and resources (Wernerfelt, 1984) Aziz and partner (2015) through a survey with managers of logistics enterprises 11 1.2.3 Criteria for evaluating the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises Based on the literature review of the authors Mentzer et al (2004); Shang and Marlow (2007); Lai (2004; 2010), PhD student proposed the criteria to evaluate the service delivery capacity of logistics enterprises Then, the PhD student carried out interview to consult with experts to assess the suitability of the proposed criteria PhD student had a direct discussion with experts in the field of logistics to collect information needed for research Experts consulted include: scientists at research institutes, universities and colleges; policy makers working at the Ministry of Industry and Trade; logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region Among the 23 proposed criteria, the percentage of criteria with an average of 2.5 points or more is 100% (23/23 criteria; none of the criteria has a score below 2.5 points); The average value of the criteria ranges from 3.58 to 4.79 points This result shows a very high level of agreement among the experts with the criteria proposed by the PhD student With the results, the above 23 criteria will be used in large-scale surveys with service providers and customers using services to evaluate service provision capacity of Vietnam logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region 1.3 FACTORS AFFECTING SERVICE PROVISION OF CAPACITY LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES 1.3.1 Macro environment: national logistics infrastructure, economic factors, political - legal factors; Science - technology factors 1.3.2 Industry environment: customers, competitors, partners _ CHAPTER EVALUATION OF ACTUAL SITUATION OF SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF VIETNAM LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 2.1 OVERVIEW OF LOGISTICS SERVICES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 2.1.1 The socio-economic development advantages of the Northern key economic region have an impact on the development of logistics industry The northern key economic region includes provinces and cities: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen and Quang Ninh; with a natural area of 15,594.2 km2, accounting for 4.7% of the country's natural area The population 12 is about 14,467 thousand people, accounting for 16.31% of the national population and the average population density is 875 people/km2 From the socio-economic features of the key economic region, there are several features that create advantages for the development of logitics service industry: the region has a special geopolitical and geoeconomical position which is a extremely important prior condition for the strong development of the fields of economy - politics - society in general; a relatively diverse economic development potential and allow economic to develop in the direction of multi-sectoral and high quality; clear conditions and potentials to quickly develop trade and service sectors, especially high-quality trade and service industries; advantages to develop into a major industrial center of the country 2.1.2 Features of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region The northern key economic region also recorded a rather busy operation of logistics enterprises The number of businesses here is about 10,878, accounting for 29.2% of the country The average number of employees is about 21 employees / enterprise with an average capital of about 23.4 billion Logistics enterprises in the key economic region are mainly located in Hanoi and Hai Phong Like other key economic regions, there are currently groups of enterprises participating in logistics services, namely multinational corporations, state corporations, private companies or joint stock companies In general, there has been an improvement compared to the past that enterprises have paid attention and invested to the quality of human resources as well as equipment However, service provision capacity is still limited compared to the requirements from the client side, the competitiveness and business efficiency are still low and inadequate with the development potential 2.1.3 Demand for logistics services in the Northern key economic region Enterprises often combine self-employed and outsourced logistics activities to ensure production activities According to experts from VLA, the outsourcing rate of logistics service industry in Vietnam ranges from 60% - 70% 2.2 ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF VIETNAM LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 2.2.1 Macro environment 13 - National logistics infrastructure: At present, the national logistics infrastructure for logistics activities in Vietnam in general and in the Northern key economic region in particular is quite poor, small-scale and not really reasonably distributed leading to poor connectivity - Economic factors: In the period of 2010 - 2019, the economy of Vietnam achieved a relatively high growth rate compared to many countries in the world, the following year consecutively reached the growth of over 7%, an average of 6.1% The average growth rate of the retail industry is about 12% per year, which depends greatly on the economic growth of Vietnam in recent years - Political - legal factors: The policy of innovation, openness, safe and secure living environment is the prior reason for the volume of foreign direct investment in Vietnam In addition, the administrative procedure and institutional reform program in Vietnam demonstrated the determination of creating favorable conditions for citizens and enterprises, especially in the field of logistics - Scientific and technological factors: The application of artificial intelligence or robots to perform a number of services, such as container loading or unloading, loading and unloading goods in warehouses are gradually appearing in the context of the 4th industrial revolution 2.2.2 Industry environment - Customers: consider the cooperation relationship of the owners is also one of the criteria to evaluate the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises as well as considering how the customer impacts the service provision capacity This relationship shows the level of cooperation or customer loyalty for the enterprises - Competitors: Vietnam has about 30 logistics service providers operating in Vietnam Compared with domestic enterprises, these enterprises have advantages in transportation contracts with large shipping lines due to the parent company signed with shippers with global networks, the advance level of investment in information technology applications, advanced management level and especially good relationship with global customers - Partners: Suppliers in some areas are tending to merge into a few specialized supply groups instead of each supplier operating individually as usual 14 2.3 ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION OF RESOURCES OF VIETNAMESE LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE KEY ECONOMIC REGION OF THE NORTH REGION The results below reflect the current state of resource factors affecting service provision capacity of enterprises - Human & management resource factors: 4.42/5 & 4.34/5 points on average, these two factors are assessed to have the greatest impact on the capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises to provide services in the Northern key economic region - Technological and physical resources factors corresponds to 4.15 and 3.89 points of assessment;; - Relational resources factor: 3.91 points According to the evaluation of logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region, this relationship is assessed at a fair level for customers and partners; - Organizational resources factor: 3.9 points of evaluation Logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region have quite simple organizational structures without high specialization - Branding and culture factor, these are the two factors that are assessed to have the least impact on the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises among all resource factors However, at the assessment level, these two factors are assessed as quite important and directly affect the capacity to provide services, respectively with 3.67 points and 3.31 points 2.4 ANALYSIS OF THE STATUS OF SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF VIETNAMESE LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 2.4.1 Ability to identify and meet customer needs The results from Figure 2.10 show that LSPs' ability to identify and meet customer needs is at an average level for both groups of businesses In particular, the group of small and medium enterprises is at 3.46 points; micro enterprises group with a score of 15 3.3 3.00 3.15 3.45 3.60 3.08 3.5 3.32 3.61 Ability to provide quality consistent with price services 3.54 Wide scope supply ability 3.06 Ability to provide a variety of services Customer group 3.75 3.27 3.27 3.33 Ability to respond quickly to changes of customers Ability to innovate services to keep up with customers' needs 3.30 3.65 3.35 3.48 3.16 3.16 Micro enterprises group 3.35 S&M enterprises Figure 2.10: Evaluating the ability to identify and meet customer needs of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the key economic region (Source: Survey of phD student) The ability to identify and meet the needs of customers of logistics enterprises is only at average level, with the average assessment for both groups of enterprises only reach 3.46 points for small and medium enterprises micro businesses and 3.32 points for micro enterprises Evaluation results are also similar to the assessment from customers (3.24 points) In this ability, the majority of enterprises' self-assessment points are higher than customers' assessments (3/5 criteria are evaluated by enterprises at a higher level; 2/5 of enterprises' assessments are at level equivalent to customer reviews) The above results show that there is a gap between the ability of enterprises and customer expectations 2.4.2 Operational capacity Operational capacity of logistics service providers is assessed to be quite good In particular, the group of small and medium enterprises self-assessed at 3.69 points; the micro enterprises group was at 3.54 points and customers rated at 3.55 points According to the evaluation results, there are 5/8 criteria businesses rated themselves higher than the evaluation of customers; 1/8 criteria have the similarity between the evaluation results of the parties and 2/8 criteria the customers evaluated the operational capacity of logistics service providers higher than the level that enterprises rated themselves In general, the operational capacity of service providers is assessed to be rather good, but most of the surveyed enterprises are small-scale enterprises and 16 provide single services The number of enterprises surveyed which provide package services are still modest 3.25 Ability to handle complaints of customers Ability to ensure transparent information 3.50 3.5 3.75 3.52 3.31 3.68 3.27 3.81 3.66 3.58 Ability to ensure professionalism during process 3.96 Ability to ensure high reliability during process 3.39 Ability to consult customers with suitable service 4.00 3.49 3.52 3.61 3.36 3.54 3.53 Flexibility with the urgent requirements of the customer 3.32 3.29 Ability to ensure goods safety, delivery of correct quantity & volume committed 3.62 3.84 3.89 Ability to delivery as time committed Customer group Micro enterprises group 3.85 3.74 3.97 Small & Medium Enterprises group Figure 2.12: Evaluate operational capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region (Source: Research synthesis of PhD student) Therefore, the above analysis results have great meanings for enterprises providing single services but not reflect the operational capacity of the group of enterprises providing package services With the global demand of full-package logistics services, it is imperative for service providers to improve their capabilities and then they can take the first step in competetiton with foreign service providers 2.4.3 Information management capacity The faster and the more accurate the information is transmitted, the more effective the decisions related to logistics would be However, it can be affirmed that one of the reasons for unreliable service provision capacity in many enterprises is due to the poor application of information technology 17 3.00 3.15 3.30 3.60 3.75 3.90 3.35 3.44 Time saving in looking up information 3.21 Ability to have high information security 3.45 3.01 3.16 3.09 Ability to convey information fully, accurately & timely 3.47 3.59 3.68 3.46 Ability to collect information with high reliability 3.52 3.47 Ability to collect and process information quickly, accurately & effectively Customer group 3.21 Micro enterprises group 3.37 3.49 Small & Medium Enterprises group Figure 2.13: Evaluate the information management capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region (Source: Survey of phD student) In the criteria to assess the information management capacity of service providers, 2/5 criteria achieved a decent level for small and medium enterprises; 1/5 criteria achieved a good level according to customer reviews; Micro enterprises not have any criteria to be ranked well Information management capacity of logistics enterprises as assessed at a fairly limited level, the data shows that both groups of small and medium enterprises, micro enterprises group when assessed were equally below 3.5 points Comments from customers also showed similar results with 3.36 points Restrictions are pointing out that domestic logistics service providers are struggling to compete with foreign enterprises 2.4.4 Integration and connectivity capability The final results show that there is a strong divergence in self-assessment of integration and connectivity capability among the groups of businesses surveyed If small and medium enterprises group has 4/5 criteria to achieve good level; 1/5 criteria reached the average level, the micro enterprises group had completely opposite results with only 1/5 criteria achieved the good level; 2/5 criteria achieved the average level and 2/5 criteria rated as weak Besides, the evaluation results from customers seem to be quite similar to the group of micro enterprises, specifically: 1/5 criteria are quite good; 3/ criteria are medium and 1/5 considered weak 18 2.00 2.25 Ability to flexibly integrate multiple services to ensure package factor Ability to flexibly integrate multiple customers on the same route 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 2.86 3.56 2.28 2.13 2.22 3.5 Ability to connect with partners in the service provision process 2.66 3.27 3.36 3.92 Ability to effectively connect with customers in the service provision process 3.67 3.88 3.45 Ability to effectively connect with internal resources Customer group Micro enterprises group 3.36 3.68 Small & Medium Enterprises group Figure 2.16: Assessing the integration and connectivity capability of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region (Source: Survey of phD student) Through the results of the survey, the integration and connectivity capability of logistics service providers still reveals many limitations, there was not a really closeknit connection with customers and especially with partners The ability to integrate to ensure the package factor as well as integrate many customers to have the opportunity to reduce costs has not met customer expectations Improving this capacity does not only aims at improving the provision capacity of logistics enterprises but also helps enterprises increase their competitiveness 2.5 ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION OF SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF SOME VIETNAMESE LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 2.5.1 Intercargo Logistics Joint Stock Company The service provision capacity of Intercargo Logistics Joint Stock Company is at an upper average level (3.4 points), higher than the average of logistics enterprises in the key economic region according to customer reviews (3.31 points) Among the criteria, a quarter of the criteria rated by customers are slightly higher than the average level (3.62 points / 3.36 points) and 3/4 of the remaining criteria of Intercargo is similar to the enterprises surveyed 19 Integr ation an… 3.1 3.15 Infor matio n… 3.62 3.36 Oper ation al… 3.59 3.55 The abilit y… 3.26 3.24 3.00 3.15 Customer in general 3.30 3.45 3.60 3.75 Intercargo Customer Group Figure 2.18: Assessment results of service provision capacity of Intercargo Logistics JSC (Source: Survey of phD student) Besides the advantages of Intercargo, the company still exposed many weaknesses during its operation First of all, Intercargo is a small-scale company with limited resources, the services that the company provides are still limited, human resources of the company are small in number, quite young age and mostly work at the field contrary to the trained profession This directly affects the quality of service provided In addition, the current state also shows that Intercargo, like other small businesses in the same field in the market, is not really ready to work with other businesses to create higher supply value which leads to ineffective business results, low profits and sluggish growth 2.5.2 Orient Shipping & Trading Joint Stock Company The service provision capacity of Orient Shipping and Trading Company is quite good (3.39 points), higher than the average of logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region according to customer reviews (3.31 points) Among the criteria, 2/4 of the criteria rated by customers are slightly higher than the common ground (respectively: 3.5 / 3.24 points; 3.45 / 3.1 points); the operational capacity of OSTC at a similar level comprare to the common ground; information management capacity is lower than the average level of surveyed enterprises (3.15/3.36 points) Like stateowned originated enterprises doing sea transportation, the market share of domestic fleets is shrinking Even in the domestic market, Vietnamese enterprises are currently 20 inferior to international shipping lines The low freight rates made profits drop Therefore, the requirements for crew quality, maintenance, and upgrade received less attention; ships began to deteriorate and accidents began to occur, resulting in insecurity in goods Customer in general I NTE GRATI ON AND CONNE CTI VI TY CAP ABI LI TY OSTC Customer group 3.45 3.1 3.36 I NF ORMATI ON MANAGE ME NT CAP ACI TY 3.15 3.55 OP E RATI ONAL ABI LI TY 3.47 THE ABI LI TY TO I DE NTI F Y & RE S P OND TO NE E DS I DE NTI F I CATI ON 3.24 3.00 3.25 3.5 3.50 3.75 4.00 Hình 2.19: Assessment results of service provision capacity of Orient Shipping & Trading Joint Stock Company (Source: Survey of phD student) The ability of OSTC in applying information technology is still modest although it is in the testing phase of IPACS application Due to high operating, copyright costs and in the context of the company's unprofitable state, the ability to maintain this application in the future is very low 2.6 OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF VIETNAM LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 2.6.1 The advantages - Firstly, the number of Vietnamese logistics enterprises is large and tends to grow compared to the entry of foreign-based enterprises - Secondly, logistics enterprises here have advantages over logistics enterprises in other regions due to the advantages of geographical factors and the socio-economic development process of the key economic region - Third, logistics enterprises have taken advantage of internal resources to serve the process of providing logistics services - Fourthly, logistics enterprises have made great efforts and tried to improve the quality with services towards professionalism 21 - Fifth, logistics enterprises have the ability to advise customers on appropriate services as well as receive quite good results when resolving customer complaints during the use of the service 2.6.2 Weaknesses - Firstly, most Vietnamese logistics businesses have modest capital and small scale - Secondly, most of Vietnam's logistics businesses in the key economic region have not yet taken advantage of the digital technology platform to improve capacity - Thirdly, most of the human resources working in logistics enterprises lack necessary and weak professional skills - Fourthly, most of Vietnam's logistics businesses in the Northern key economic region have limited information management capacity - Next, most Vietnamese logistics enterprises are quite passive in innovating and have not really responded promptly to customer changes, lack of necessary flexibility - Although there is a fairly large proportion of Vietnamese logistics businesses that have not established close relationships with customers 2.6.3 The cause of the weaknesses * Objective reason: The impact of the free trade agreements between the European Union - Vietnam (EVFTA) is a huge challenge for Vietnamese logistics businesses when they have to open the market The provinces / cities in the key economic region in the recent period have not had specific support policies for logistics enterprises Logistics infrastructure in the key economic region is still poor, backward, lacking of uniformity and not being well invested Logistics enterprises have not been able to access and use capital from preferential packages, support programs from credit and insurance organizations * Subjective cause: most Vietnamese logistics enterprises have modest capital and small scale; the level of coordination and linkages between logistics enterprises is lax, lacks interconnection, operates independently, has no connection with external logistics service networks and global logistics networks; The structure of services and the proportion of value-added services in Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the key economic region remain low, while customers require full-service services In addition to the limited resources, logistics enterprises have not paid adequate attention to investing in market research and development Service providers have not properly assessed the importance of the factors affecting customers' choice of service Although businesses are already aware of the application of information technology to their business activities, they still keep a considerable distance from foreign logistics enterprises Human resources lack knowledge and experience in this field as well as limited foreign language skills 22 _ CHAPTER 3: IMPROVE CAPACITY OF VIETNAMESE LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 3.1 BACKGROUND, VIEWPOINTS AND OBJECTIVES TO IMPROVE THE LOGISTICS SERVICE CAPACITY OF VIETNAM LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 3.1.1 Forecasting the context to improve the service provision capacity of Vietnam's logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region * International context: Political conflict continues to be more complicate and put impacts on world commodity prices, the trend of returning to protectionism, commercial protectionist policies of countries continues to rise This hinder trade and investment, creating negative consequences for world economic growth * Domestic context: Macro economy to maintain stably, Vietnam is assessed as a fast growing economy in Asia, with GDP growth from 6.8% to 7.1 %/year Commerce is promoted through implementation and participation in new generation free commercial agreements of Vietnam 3.1.2 Viewpoints, objectives of socio-economic development of provinces and cities of the Northern key economic region to 2025, with a view 2030 * Viewpoints: The Northern key economic region has been identified as the center of politics, economy, culture and science and technology of the whole country, with central government agencies, centers operating many large economic organizations, national scientific and technological training, research and development facilities will continue to play an important role in the development process of the country * Objectives: The economic structure is transforming towards increasing the proportion of services Besides, it is necessary to promote investment attraction, make use of new opportunities to expand domestic and international markets; effectively promoting the geo-economic position advantages with a synchronous, modern and outstanding infrastructure system, especially seaports, international airports and highway systems 3.1.3 Viewpoints and objectives to improve the service provision capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region * Viewpoints: Capacity building of services must be consistent with the current domestic and international context, in the direction of modernization, strengthening integration and connectivity capacities, based on digital technology and on high quality human resources * Objectives: To establish a chain of logistics enterprises focus on developing leading logistics enterprises, having sufficient competitiveness in the domestic and 23 international market Mean while, there must a mechanism to support, promote and assign logistics enterprises in the chain in a logical and modern way; focus on transforming traditional logistics enterprises into modern logistics enterprises in the direction of applying new technology solutions in the field of logistics 3.2 SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE SERVICE PROVISION CAPACITY OF VIETNAM LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN THE NORTHERN KEY ECONOMIC REGION 3.2.1 Solutions to improve the identify and meet customer needs capacity - Conducting customer satisfaction surveys on the quality of service; - Focusing on investing in resources of logistics enterprises 3.2.2 Solutions to improve operational capacity - Innovate and enhance technology solutions in operational activities; - Improve organizational qualifications and management capacity; 3.2.3 Solutions to improve information management capacity - Raise the awareness of logistics enterprises about the role of information technology; - Develop an information technology strategy for enterprises; - Develop the ability to share information with customers and partners 3.2.4 Solutions to improve integration and connectivity capability - Build and develop network; - Associate with logistics enterprises through cooperation and merger - Strengthen connections with banks and credit institutions through credit cooperation programs 3.2.5 Others solutions - Expand business area; - Developing and promoting brands using digital marketing; - Improve the quality of human resources through specific and transpatent human resource policies; 3.3 RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT - Complete the infrastructure for logistics activities; - Establish logistics centers; - Thoroughly tackle the shortcomings in management and specialized inspection of goods; - Reduce road costs, transparent BOT stations activities, eliminate hidden costs in road management; - Change and standardize regulations on business conditions; - Promote the training of human resources for logistics industry; - Create mechanisms to promote cooperate Vietnamese logistics enterprises; 24 - Complete the state management framework for logistics; - Establish State management division to take charge of logistics sector CONCLUSION Vietnamese enterprises in general and logistics enterprises in particular are currently facing challenges due to the rapid and unpredictable changes of the business environment as well as the competitive pressure on the domestic and foreign market With the objectives and research missions, the thesis has focused on clarifying the following theoretical and practical issues: Firstly, the thesis has contributed to systematize, supplement and develop a number of theories on the service provision capacity of logistics providers In particular, the thesis clarify the concept of services provision capacity of logistics enterprises; as a basis for forming a theoretical framework related to the service provision capacity of enterprises; Secondly, inheriting the research works of foreign scholars, the study has clearly identified four factors that constitute the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises Thirdly, the thesis identifies environmental factors affecting the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region; In addition, base on the assessment of the current service provision capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region, the thesis has pointed out the advantages, weaknesses and causes of the weaknesses; Nextly, the thesis proposes 04 group solutions to improve the service provision capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region and propose 09 recommendations to the government and authorities as well as provinces in the Northern key economic region Although the thesis has proposed a model to evaluate the service provision capacity of logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region with comparison of the provision capacity among different enterprises groups and especially with the customers group However, the evaluation results will be more convincing if the thesis has a comparison with the service delivery capacity of logistics enterprises operating in other key economic regions and the bigger sample size due to difficulty in collecting data, limited funding as well as limited other resources This is a suggestive issue that will be finalized in subsequent studies LIST OF PUBLISHED WORKS OF AUTHOR Lam Tuan Hung (2016), Developing logistics enterprises to promote the export of agricultural products to Chinese market, Trade Research Review; 22th and 23th edition; October 2016 Lam Tuan Hung (2018), Application of information technology in logistics enterprises in Vietnam - Situation and Hardships, The International Scientific Conference Yearbook “International integration in the training and development of logistics human resources in Vietnam" National Economics University, December 2018; ISBN: 978-604-65-3693-2 Lam Tuan Hung (2019), Building a model research on service provision capacity of logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region, National Science Conference “Commercial development in 4.0 industrial context: Productivity and sustainability ” University of Commerce, June 2019; ISBN: 978-604-98-2047-2 Lam Tuan Hung, Pham Thi Oanh, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai (2019), Competitiveness of Vietnam's logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region, Asia-Pacific Economic Review; 553 edition; November 2019 Lam Tuan Hung, Le Trinh Minh Chau (2020), Solutions to improve service of providing capacity of Vietnamese logistics enterprises in the Northern key economic region, Viet Nam Trade and Industry Review; edition; May 2020 ... the logistics services suppliers * Research on the status of logistics industry in Vietnam Studies on the status of Vietnam's logistics industry include research related to the development of logistics. .. logistics services in Vietnam; Competitiveness of Vietnam's logistics industry To name a few: Dang Dinh Dao ans his partner (2011) "Developing logistics services in Vietnam in the context of international... the competitiveness of Vietnam's logistics service industry in the context of economic integration ”; Vietnam Logistics Report 2017, 2018 and 2019 * Research on Vietnam logistics enterprises There